Communication networks are becoming increasingly prevalent, including relatively small or local networks such as home networks.
A home network typically includes a hub and one or more so-called local devices. The hub may be a WiFi-enabled telephone with the local devices being 3G/WiFi telephones. Another example is where the hub device is a Bluetooth-enabled broadband interface device and the local devices are Bluetooth-enabled mobile telephones, that when located in range of the Bluetooth link with the hub device may perform telephone calls via the hub device's broadband interface.
In small scale or localised networks, authentication processes typically require manual user input of identification data, for example computer and/or router identities are entered by a user into one or more computers of a local area network or home wireless network.
Quite separate from home networks, it is known in the field of cellular communications systems to carry out centralized authentication processes in which a network operator uses a challenge-response pair to authenticate a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) when the SIM is present in a communication device, for example a mobile telephone. The process relies upon the network operator knowing a key that is unique to a given SIM and which is programmed in the SIM. An extension of this process is provided by a protocol called Generic Authentication Architecture (GAA), which is standardised by 3GPP in TR33.919 and related standards. GAA allows authentication of SIMs to be exported to service providers other than the network operator. In overview, challenge-response pairs are provided by the network operator to the service provider, for the service provider to use, e.g. at a later time, to authenticate the SIM. Thus, although the ultimate authentication step is not carried out by the network operator as such, nevertheless the network operator is involved at earlier stages of the process. It will be appreciated that these processes are ones in which the SIM itself is being authenticated by the network operator (or service provider with permission and involvement of the network operator) using a challenge-response functionality, including a key, that has been provided in the SIM by the network operator for this specific purpose.
In another separate field, GB2,408,181 describes a wireless configuration process in which a SIM is in effect used as a memory device for a first communication device to write configuration data on to. The SIM is then inserted in a second communication device which can then read the configuration data.
In the field of authentication, US2003/204743 describes methods and apparatus for the authentication of integrated circuits. A group of devices such as integrated circuits are fabricated based on a common design, each device having a corresponding set of measurable characteristics that is unique in the group to that device, each device having a measurement module for measuring the measurable characteristics. Authentication of one of the group of devices by an authenticating unit is enabled by selective measurement of one or more of the characteristics of the device. It will be noted that is necessary for the authenticating unit itself to be provided with the responses (i.e. the correct measurements) that should be received from the or each device on measuring its response to challenges.
In the field of smart cards, U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,912 describes a loyalty file structure for a smart card which includes any number of loyalty files pre-installed by a card manufacturer. The loyalty file on a card may be used with electronic ticketing to store information pertaining to a purchased ticket, such as an airline ticket. Upon later presentation of the card at an airline boarding gate, stored information in the loyalty file is compared with the same information downloaded from the airline host computer. A match indicates a valid purchase and a boarding pass may be issued. Again it will be noted that is necessary for a unit at the boarding gate to be provided not only with appropriate challenges, but also with the responses that should be received in response to challenges.
Finally, WO 2005/048179 relates to an information carrier containing a non-clonable optical identifier having an optical scattering medium for being challenged by and for scattering a light beam. In order to provide a secure information carrier, it further has a light absorbing means for reducing the intensity of the light beam so that an integration time for obtaining a response signal by integrating the scattered light beam is extended.